Tuesday August 18, 2009

Hello Everyone!

On Tuesday we traveled from Konotop to Sumy. In Sumy we went to a JDC sponsored family camp. The camp was filled with adorable little kids running around a colorful playground. After dinner we gathered in the cafeteria with the Jewish families and our Ukrainian peers. The teenagers in the camp performed for us…they had amazing voices! During their performance, we were able to get up close and personal with the Jewish families in the camp.

Ivy and I sat with a family that included a mother, father, a teenage son, and their beautiful little daughter. Also at the table was an 18 year old with his grandmother. One of our Ukrainian peers sat with us to translate. I really enjoyed this activity because the Ukrainians were just as interested in our lives as we were in theirs. I was shocked to hear that these people hide their Jewish identity…only their close friends know that they are Jewish. They were happy to hear how in American we live amongst all different kinds of people in peace. I can’t even imagine living a life where I had to hide my Jewish identity. I really loved the discussion I had with these families. They wanted to exchanged email addresses so we can keep in touch. They also walked me to the bus to say goodbye as we departed back to Kharkov for the rest of the week. I was really touched by the connections I made that night. It made me appreciate the Jewish life I live in America and I'm very happy to be in Ukraine volunteering my time. This trip has been amazing and I will always remember these moments in Ukraine!

xoxo,

Marissa

Working in Konotop: Day 2

Day two in Konotop started with the UCF students and the Ukranian peers waking up and enjoying a breakfast at the Konotop Hesed. After breakfast, we proceeded to break up into groups and visit the homes of a few of the elderly members that receive goods and services from nthe Hesed. Immediatedly after this, the group had lunch again and began work at the Hesed.

At the Hesed, the UCF students and the Ukranian peers worked together on everything from picking pears and apples and making juice, to chopping wood and laying down new flooring. This was a really great experience for all of us as we were able to work together and create a special bond that would continue to grow throughout the trip.

After the long and hard days work, the students and peers again came together to have a "restaurant cookoff" for dinner. This cookoff consisted of breaking everyone into three groups and giving each group the same ingedients, a lot of which came from the fruits and vegetables that we had picked earlier in the day. Each team was responsible for creating their own dish from the ingredients which again helped the entire group to create a much deeper and long last connection. Once all of the dishes were completed, the entire group proceeded to each and celebrate throughout the night at the Hesed with music and dancing. This was especially meaningful to me as I really felt that I had helped out a community and that I had done something that I could feel very proud about.

Jon

2nd Day in Konotop:

A few days ago we found ourselves in Konotop. Although the first day in Konotop we spent our day picking potatoes and fruit for the Hesed, today was spent a little different. We spent a lot of time learning all about the special services that that the Hesed provided including home care, food, and other needs for the elderly within their Jewish community. Today our group were privileged with getting to meet, interact, and help three of the older community members which was so amazingly fulfilling.

Personally, I went to visit a 80year old man named Gregory, who called himself by his Yiddish name Hershel the whole time which I thought was just the cutest. Here he is living in a community with a very small population of Jews or anyone that can even speak Yiddish, and he’s all about being called by his Yiddish name. He lived in a two bedroom home with his Ukrainian wife who was not herself Jewish. As we walked into his yard filled with the most amazingly beautiful flowers I had ever seen, Hershel greeted us all with a huge smile and kind handshake.After our first hellos he asked us to help him with his garden.

Together, all of us girls picked and carried buckets full of apples to there trash site that were rotting on his beautiful garden floor. We may have gotten attacked by a few creepy crawlers but it was so worth it in the end seeing how happy he was sitting with his wife in the backyard watching us clean his garden. He looked sat there anxiously with an arm full of bright red apples to give all of us for our job well done (I’ve never seen someone so excited to give me a piece of fruit).After all of our hard work we got to sit with him & his wife. We learned that he was born and raised in the Ukraine, met his wife abroad (also from the Ukraine) while in the army, & when he came back he worked in an upholstery factory. He had two sons one who had sadly just recently died in Israel. He was very interested in the economics of America and their factories mostly when we spoke. Also mentioned was that he & his wife were going to be celebrating their 55th anniversary in November. I thought it was so amazing that 2 people could love each other for such a long time.Before we left, Hershel gave all 6 of us girls a special rose from his garden which he had grown himself. He gave each of us what Sarah & I describe as: “The best hug we’ve ever had in our entire lives”. He was so warm and caring. They were so appreciative that it brought tears to most of our eyes. As we said our goodbyes and mazol tovs on their anniversary I couldn’t help but think I may never see them again, but I know that all of us would never forget each other or our experience.

Love to all!

Erica Rosenstien

Thursday August 13th and Friday August 14th

Priviet! (Hello in Russian)

We FINALLY made it to Ukraine! After delayed flights and hours in the Moscow airport, we arrived safely in Kiev! As soon as we arrived we started our journey with a six hour bus ride to Kharkov. We arrived around 7 am to the sight of Hotel Dynamo! We jumped off the bus and quickly began our day. We were surprised by all of our new Ukrainian friends at breakfast when they sang and presented us all with roses!

Once we all finished breakfast, we started with a tour of the city and got to see many different national monuments. We then went on a tour of the Hesed, a Jewish welfare center. We were delighted to be able to hand out over 20 packs of crayons to children participating at the Hesed. Their faces lit up when we handed each of them a pack of crayons! We were also able to spend time with the elderly clients of Hesed and were lucky enough to sing Shabbat Shalom with all of them! After the Hesed, we stopped by the only synagogue in Kharkov for a tour and then headed to a nearby restaurant for a kosher lunch! Once we finished lunch, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat!

Shabbat at the JCC in Ukraine is such a wonderful experience. Instead of a traditional Shabbat in a synagogue or home, we all stood outside in a circle and recited the prayers! It was a great way to be able to see everyone that you were celebrating Shabbat with!
The next morning we walked to Synagogue to celebrate Shabbat. Since the only synagogue in Kharkov is Orthodox, all the girls and boys were separated for the service. It is a very beautiful synagogue with a lot of history.

After Shabbat we went on a walking tour of Kharkov and ended up in Gorky Park where we played games with our Ukrainian peers all afternoon. The parks in Ukraine are AMAZING. They have the most beautiful flowers everywhere you turn! Once we returned from the park, we ate dinner and then went bowling! It was so fun to be out on the town with all of our new Ukrainian friends!

The next morning we headed 6 hours to the city of Konotop. Once we arrived at the Konotop Hesed, we immediately ate lunch and began working! We began by picking potatoes and fruit and painting doors and fences. The Konotop Hesed grows as many fruits and vegetables as possible to be as self sufficient as they can. Once we finished the dirty work, we went inside to enjoy dinner and a show by the Shtetle Ensemble. We danced and sang all night and ended the evening with an art show where they allowed us to by original pieces of art made by the Hesed clients!

Once we finished at the Hesed, we headed to our campsite that we were spending the evening at. Girls being girls, we weren’t a fan of the camping conditions (the boys LOVED it). But all in all it was definately an experience!

We are having an AMAZING time in Ukraine so far and we still have more work to be done and friends to be made! We are all safe and will see you soon!

Xoxo,
Sarah

LIVE FROM NEW YORK

Hey Everyone! We FINALLY made it…to New York! What was supposed to be a quick 2 hour flight from Orlando to JFK turned into a lovely five hour extravaganza! Who knew this flight would also include circling over JFK, running low on gas and having a delightful detour in Newburgh, NY. Thank heaven that JetBlue has DirectTV.

But that wasn’t the last of the mishaps. Chloe was injured in a luggage drive by but luckily her big toe survived the incident (minus a piece of toenail)! Mikaela went to check in for our flight to Moscow only to discover that “she had already checked in” It took 45 minutes, but she was able to get her ticket and make it through security to join the rest of us!

Other than having limited (yet overpriced) food choices, the experience has been good so far! All the mishaps and extra flying time actually brought us closer as a group, and its only day one of this amazing experience.

Ok…our flight is about to board! This our last blog from the States…see you in Ukraine!

Xoxo,
Sarah and Chloe

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Hi There! We are only a few short days away from leaving Orlando to travel half way across the world to Ukraine! I am sure that I can speak for all of us going on the trip in that we are all SO EXCITED that the trip is finally around the corner!

Over the past few months we have been working diligently to raise funds and goods to bring over to Ukraine. We started our "Change for Ukraine" campaign with a car wash at a local Walgreens where in a few short hours we were able to raise $100!

Next after our successful car wash came our 2 large fundraising events! Thanks to Scott and the rest of the fundraising committee, we were able to rent out a local bar, Dungeon and host a party in which all the proceeds would go straight to "Change for Ukraine!" Jon (aka D.J Whiteface) played awesome music all night long while all of our friends came out to support "Change for Ukraine" and have a good time!

The next night we held a fundraising event at Buffalo Wild Wings in Waterford Lakes. BWW was kind enough to donate 20% of their profit from that night to "Change for Ukraine" Everyone was able to eat and have a good time, all while raising money to bring to Ukraine!

In total, we were able to raise $892 to donate to the Jewish community in Ukraine! We had so much fun raising the money, and knowing that it is going to help the Jewish community makes us all very proud to be able to help!

Like I said before, we are all very excited to be leaving so soon, and we can't wait to be able to share this experience with our peers in Ukraine!

xoxo,

Sarah

Greetings from Florida!

Hello! My name is Jenna Mitzner and I am the Program Director at Central Florida Hillel. In just one week I will be traveling to Kharkov, Ukraine along with 14 amazing students from the University of Central Florida. They can’t wait to come, and are excited to a part of this wonderful experience. Read below to find out more about each of the students…

Jon

Name: Jon
Email: jonis123@gmail.com
Hometown: Potomac, MD
Age: 21
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Digital Media
Interests/Hobbies: playing sports, hanging out with my fraternity brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi, DJ-ing huge dance parties, playing video games and watching movies.

Kim

Name: Kimberly
Email: looknqt523@hotmail.com
Hometown: Miami, FL
Age: 20
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Interpersonal and Organizational Communications
Interests/Hobbies: intramural sports, shopping, going to see movies, reading and hanging out with my friends.

Sarah

Name: Sarah
Email: sarah.cannistra@gmail.com
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
Age: 21
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Psychology
Interests/Hobbies: shopping, playing with my dog Calli, doing art projects and working.

Ivy

Name: Ivy
Email: ivydorf@gmail.com
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
Age: 21
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Marketing
Interests/Hobbies: skating, going to the gym, watching movies, drawing and bike riding.

Jamie

Name: Jamie
Email: awesome66@aol.com
Hometown: Longwood, FL
Age: 20
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Micro & Molecular Biology
Interests/Hobbies: studying, working out, going to the beach and spending time with my sorority sisters.

Gabe

Name: Gabe
Email: gabe@goldman.net
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
Age: 21
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Accounting
Interests/Hobbies: playing golf, hanging out with my fraternity brothers, working and taking long walks on the beach.

Mikaela

Name: Mikaela
Email: prplemoonlightx@yahoo.com
Hometown: Coral Springs, FL
Age: 19
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Pre-Dental
Interests/Hobbies: going to the gym, shopping, sleeping and painting.

Chloe

Name: Chloe
Email: chloehochrad@gmail.com
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Age: 21
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Advertising/Public Relations
Interests/Hobbies: shopping, working, Hillel, hanging out with friends and spending time with my family.

Stacey

Name: Stacey
Email: smarmorstein@hotmail.com
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Age: 19
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Political Science
Interests/Hobbies: shopping, Hillel, laying by the pool and hanging out with my sorority sisters.

Marissa

Name: Marissa
Email: mpiazza@knights.ucf.edu
Hometown: Palm Harbor, FL
Age: 19
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Hospitality and Tourism Management
Interests/Hobbies: filming and editing videos, traveling, photography and doing tie-dye.

Erica

Name: Erica
Email: erosen@knights.ucf.edu
Hometown: Miami Beach, FL
Age: 19
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Education
Interests/Hobbies: dancing, fishing, shopping and hanging out with my sorority sisters.

Randi

Name: Randi
Email: beachbabe02@comcast.net
Hometown: Fort Meyers, FL
Age: 19
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Finance
Interests/Hobbies: traveling, snow skiing, swimming and watching movies.

Stephany

Name: Stephany
Email: stephanyschwartz@gmail.com
Hometown: Coral Springs, FL
Age: 21
School: University of Central Florida
Major: Advertising and Public Relations
Interests/Hobbies: playing soccer, cooking, computer design and swimming.